Archive for the Uncategorized Category

FAUST is Austrian Russian

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on 22 January 2012 by delclem

“There are only few literary figures that are always good at enflaming passions and inciting debates. One of these immortals is Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s Faust. The desperate scholar has conquered countless theatres and his pact with Mephisto has been sealed in a number of films.

Most recently, the Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov developed a fascinating new interpretation of the myth for his film Faust for which he was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival … The alchemist, who teeters on the brink of the abyss, is wonderfully played by Viennese actor Johannes Zeiler.”
> interview (c) wieninternational.at, 2012

> German version

Atheism on the radar

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , on 21 January 2012 by delclem

The “god question” explodes in our face. Particularly the English-language book market has become the battle ground for more or less intelligent skirmishes between evolutionists and creationists, believers, agnostics, and atheists. Two reviews:

>1 on Terry Eagleton, Reason, Faith, and Revolution (c) salon.com, 2012

>2 on Alain de Botton, Religion for Atheists
Gavin Flood, The Importance of Religion

Alex Rosenberg: The Atheist’s Guide to Reality
(c) FT, 2012

Another unpunished massacre

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , on 19 January 2012 by delclem

“In the spring of 1944, Nazi troops massacred hundreds of Italian civilians in the Ardeatine Caves near Rome. After World War II came to an end, however, the German government did little to track down the perpetrators. At the time, both Rome and Bonn were more interested in politics than justice.” Article by Klaus Wiegrefe

(c) DER SPIEGEL, 2012; photo (c) Koch/Bundesarchiv

Between South Korea, Austria & Kosovo

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on 14 January 2012 by delclem

On Anna Kim’s novel Frozen Time (2010)

“Written by the South Korean-born author, who moved to Austria from Germany aged seven and regards German as her mother tongue, the narrative follows a young researcher in Vienna’s Red Cross Tracing Service as she attempts to help a Kosovan man discover what happened to his wife during the war in former Yugoslavia.” > article (c) A Year of Reading in the World, 2012 (reblogged)

> homepage Anna Kim (c) photo.

Traces of slavery in Vienna

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on 12 January 2012 by delclem

“A West African slave, brought to Vienna through Sicily, Angelo Soliman (1721-96) became a trusted and respected figure in Enlightenment Vienna. After his death, however, he was stuffed & exhibited in the Imperial Natural History collections as an exotic. As immigration arguments in Austria reach new intensity, the Wien Museum’s Soliman exhibition offers historical guidance.” (until 29 January)

>Reblogged entry (c) ENTARTETE MUSIK, 2011

>Review in German (c) ORF, 2011

Bosnia-Hercegovina under Habsburg rule, 1878-1918

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , on 11 January 2012 by delclem

“With the arrival of Habsburg occupiers in 1878, Bosnia-Herzegovina became Austria-Hungary’s first and only colony. It rapidly became the sole outlet for the energies, ideas, and resources of aspiring colonizers in the ‘motherland’.”

Pretty good “Postcolonial” historical survey reblogged from (c) bosniafacts.info, 2012

Photo (c) Heeresgeschichtl. Museum, Vienna

Also see my own posting on the subject matter.

Balkan Flair in Vienna

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on 10 January 2012 by delclem

“The book Balkanmeile – 24 Stunden Ottakringer Strasse offers a portrait of a street of Vienna that has attracted attention over the last few years on account of its migrant inhabitants. Review (c) wienintenational.at, 2012

Birthday Celebrations of an Entity

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , on 9 January 2012 by delclem

“The Republika Srpska, one of the 2 entities that make up Bosnia-Herzegovina, is celebrating its founding on Monday with a number of events in Banja Luka. The celebration has prompted condemnations from some in the other entity, the mainly Bosniak-Croat federation.” Reblogged text (c) balkaninsight.com, 2012

“First Havel, and now Hawelka too”

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , on 8 January 2012 by delclem

Obituary of a Viennese coffee house legend:
Leopold Hawelka, 1911-2011

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The X-files of art history

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , on 7 January 2012 by delclem

‘EUROPE & THE SPIRIT WORLD,
or: the Fascination with the Occult, 1750-1950’

“This is a cross-disciplinary exhibition exploring the influence of the occult on artists, thinkers, writers and scholars throughout Europe, at decisive moments in the history of the modern world. The exhibition is organized into three sections:

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